Eid visit: Senior LHC judges visit prisons

Justice Manzoor Malik, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah visit prisons in Sheikhupura, Lahore.

LAHORE: Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court (LHC) visited Kot Lakhpat Jail, Camp Jail and Sheikhupura District Jail on Sunday. They ordered the release on bail of 53 prisoners involved in minor crimes.

They directed the district and sessions judges of Lahore, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib to visit the prisons once every month and ask the prisoners about their trials and problems.

They said that women prisoners, jailed for bailable offences, should not be detained for extended terms.

They said that women additional and sessions judges and judicial magistrates would be sent to the jails after Eid to look into the problems of women prisoners and submit a report to the LHC.

They also expressed concern over the continued imprisonment of people jailed over minor offences. They ordered the release of a child, Muhammad Sibtain, who was arrested during a political rally from Liberty roundabout.

The judges said that the fact that people did not get timely bails in minor crimes showed that there were flaws in the judicial system.

Justice Shah said that a pilot project had been introduced to link jails with courts. This, he said, would facilitate speedy disposal of cases.

They directed the authorities to create jail websites and upload the record of prisoners on them. They also distributed Eid gifts among the prisoners. They urged the prisoners to reform themselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2014.